Gas Blasts Kill 24, Injure 271 In Taiwanese Port

[cavanami]

Gas blasts kill 24, injure 271 in Taiwanese port

 

http://news.yahoo.com/gas-explosions-kill-15-injure-228-taiwan-194627773.html

 

I lived/worked there for over three years and know the city well. Tragic but I am not surprised.

 

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (AP) — At least 24 people were killed and 271 injured when several underground gas explosions ripped through Taiwan's second-largest city, hurling concrete and cars through the air and blasting trenches in the streets, authorities said Friday, as a search for the cause began.

 

The series of explosions about midnight Thursday and early Friday struck a densely populated district where several petrochemical companies operate pipelines alongside the sewer system in Kaohsiung, a southwestern port with 2.8 million people.

 

Firefighters called to the neighborhood to investigate a gas leak were among the victims when the blasts went off several hours later, upending at least five red fire trucks amid the rubble of pavement and dirt.

 

Four firefighters were among the 24 dead, and 271 people were injured, the National Fire Agency said. The death toll could rise, because many of the seriously injured were still being treated, officials said.

 

"Last night around midnight, the house started shaking and I thought it was a huge earthquake, but when I opened the door, I saw white smoke all over and smelled gas," said Chen Qing-tao, 38, who lives 10 buildings away from the main explosion site...

[Flashermac]

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